Recent rains ease some concerns about dryness in Argentina crop
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Funds seek short-covering in wheat market
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Weakness in Brazilian real weigh on corn, soy futures
(Updates with market moves, market closing prices, updates headline)
By P.J. Huffstutter
CHICAGO, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures turned lower on a choppy, lower-volume session on Monday, as weakness in the energy market and mild weather forecasts for Brazil's oilseed crop weighed on prices, market analysts said.
Wheat futures firmed on a technical rebound from last week's losses, and after Sovecon agriculture consultancy said next year's Russian wheat exports would fall sharply due to a poor harvest and low carry-over stocks.
Meanwhile, corn futures ended higher, bolstered by mixed Argentinian weather outlooks and as investors set final positions ahead of the Christmas holiday break on Wednesday.
CBOT's most-active wheat settled up 7-1/2 cents at $5.40-1/2 a bushel. Soybeans ended the session down 3-3/4 cents at $9.75-1/2 a bushel, while corn ended up 1-1/2 cents at $4.47-3/4 a bushel.
While trade volumes were fairly light throughout the day, weakness in the energy markets cast some spillover pressure on corn and soy futures early in the day, said Karl Setzer, partner at Consus Ag Consulting.
Strength in the U.S. dollar, compared to weakness in the Brazilian real, also weighed on corn and soy markets, said Don Roose, president of Iowa-based U.S. Commodities.
The real fell 1.4% against the dollar on Monday, giving up gains from Friday when central bank intervention helped the currency pick up off record lows.
"Traders know that harvest momentum will start to pick up in South American going into January," Roose said. "So with the real down and the dollar up, that gives South America's crop the advantage over the U.S."
The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Monday confirmed private sales of 132,000 metric tons of U.S. soybeans to China, and 132,000 tons of U.S. corn to unknown destinations. Both are for delivery during the 2024/25 marketing year. (Additional reporting by Michael Hogan in Hamburg and Mei Mei Chu in Beijing
